In statuam Bacchi.[1]

A statue of Bacchus

Bacche pater quis te mortali lumine novit,
Et docta effinxit hinc[2] tua membra manu?
Praxiteles[3], qui me rapientem Gnosida[4] vidit,
Atque illo pinxit tempore qualis eram.
Cur iuvenis, teneraque etiam lanugine vernat
Barba, queas Pylium cùm superare senem:[5]
Muneribus quandoque meis si parcere disces,
Iunior & forti pectore semper eris.
Tympana non manibus, capiti non cornua desunt,[6]
Quos nisi dementeis talia signa decent?
Hoc doceo, nostro quòd abusus munere sumit
Cornua, & insanus mollia sistra[7] quatit.
Quid vult ille color membris penè igneus? omen
Absit, an humanis ureris ipse focis?
  Link to an image of this page  [K4v p152]Cùm Semeles de ventre[8] parens me fulmine traxit
Ignivomo, infectum pulvere mersit aquis.
Hinc sapit hic liquidis qui nos bene diluit undis:
Qui non, ardenti torret ab igne iecur.
Sed nunc me doceas quî vis miscerier? & qua
Te sanus tutum prendere lege queat?
Quadrantem addat aquae, calicem sumpsisse falerni[9]
Qui cupit, hoc sumi pocula more iuvat.
Stes citra[10] heminas[11]: nam qui procedere tendit
Ultrà, alacer, sed mox ebrius, inde furit:
Res dura haec nimium, sunt pendula guttura, dulce
Tu fluis, heu facilè commoda nulla cadunt.

Father Bacchus, who set mortal eyes upon you and accordingly fashioned your limbs with skilful hand? - It was Praxiteles, who saw me carrying off the girl from Knossos and represented me as I was at that time. - Why are you young, and why is your beard fresh with tender down, though you can surpass the old man of Pylos? - Because you will always be young and of a brave heart, if you will learn to use my gifts sparingly. - Drums are not absent from your hands, horns are not missing from your head. Whom but the mad do such symbols fit? - I teach men that anyone who abuses my gifts grows horns and in madness shakes unmanly rattles. - What is the meaning of the colour like fire upon your limbs? Perish the thought - do you yourself burn with mortal fires? When my father drew me with his flaming lightning-blast from Semele’s womb, he dipped me in water, all marked with ash as I was. And so that man is wise who dilutes me well with water. He who does not, gets his liver scorched from the raging fire. - But now, tell me how you wish to be mixed, and under what conditions a sensible man can take you in safety. - The man who desires to take a cup of Falernian should add a quadrans of water. It is good when cups are taken like this. You should keep within small measures. Anyone who pushes on further is first merry, soon drunk and then mad. - This is a very hard thing. Our tongues hang out, you flow sweetly down. Alas, nothing good for us comes easy.

In statuam Bacchi.[1]

A statue of Bacchus

Bacche pater quis te mortali lumine novit,
Et docta effinxit hinc[2] tua membra manu?
Praxiteles[3], qui me rapientem Gnosida[4] vidit,
Atque illo pinxit tempore qualis eram.
Cur iuvenis, teneraque etiam lanugine vernat
Barba, queas Pylium cùm superare senem?[5]
Muneribus quandoque meis si parcere disces,
Iunior & forti pectore semper eris.
Tympana non manibus, capiti non cornua desunt,[6]
Quos nisi dementeis talia signa decent?
Hoc doceo, nostro quòd abusus munere sumit
Cornua, & insanus mollia sistra[7] quatit.
Quid vult ille color membris penè igneus? omen
Absit, an humanis ureris ipse focis?
Cùm Semeles de ventre[8] parens me fulmine traxit
  Link to an image of this page  [h1v p114]Ignivomo, infectum pulvere mersit aquis.
Hinc sapit hic, liquidis qui[9] nos bene diluit undis:
Qui non, ardenti torret ab igne iecur.
Sed nunc me doceas qui vis miscerier? & qua
Te sanus tutum prendere lege queat?
Quadrantem addat aquae, calicem sumpsisse falerni[10]
Qui cupit, hoc sumi pocula more iuvat.
Stes citra[11] heminas[12], nam qui procedere tendit
Ultrà, alacer, sed mox ebrius, inde furit.
Res dura haec nimium, sunt pendula guttura, dulcè
Tu fluis, heu facilè commoda nulla cadunt.

Father Bacchus, who set mortal eyes upon you and accordingly fashioned your limbs with skilful hand? - It was Praxiteles, who saw me carrying off the girl from Knossos and represented me as I was at that time. - Why are you young, and why is your beard fresh with tender down, though you can surpass the old man of Pylos? - Because you will always be young and of a brave heart, if you will learn to use my gifts sparingly. - Drums are not absent from your hands, horns are not missing from your head. Whom but the mad do such symbols fit? - I teach men that anyone who abuses my gifts grows horns and in madness shakes unmanly rattles. - What is the meaning of the colour like fire upon your limbs? Perish the thought - do you yourself burn with mortal fires? When my father drew me with his flaming lightning-blast from Semele’s womb, he dipped me in water, all marked with ash as I was. And so that man is wise who dilutes me well with water. He who does not, gets his liver scorched from the raging fire. - But now, tell me how you wish to be mixed, and under what conditions a sensible man can take you in safety. - The man who desires to take a cup of Falernian should add a quadrans of water. It is good when cups are taken like this. You should keep within small measures. Anyone who pushes on further is first merry, soon drunk and then mad. - This is a very hard thing. Our tongues hang out, you flow sweetly down. Alas, nothing good for us comes easy.

Quidam cùm Bacchum Deum vini putatum
egregiè fabricatum videret, eius mirabilem for-
mam contemplans eum tandem sic alloquitur:
Dic pater Bacche quis hominum unquam te
vidit & taliter effinxit? Cui Bacchus respon-
dit, Praxiteles (statuarius nobilis praesertim
marmoris felicissimus sculptor, qui etiam Bac-
chum formavit aeneum, de quo Plinius lib. 34.
ca. 8.) me ad unguem talem expressit qualem
me vidit cùm raperem Gnosida (id est, Ariad-
ne, filia Minois Regis Cretae ex Gnoso urbe
quae Theseum iuvenem cùm Minotauro de-
vorandus obiiceretur adiuvit & servavit, quam
ille in patriam revertens secum abduxit, sed in
itinere, insula Chio dereliquit & periurus
deservit, Deinde Bacchus eius misertus, eam
  Link to an image of this page  [h2r p115]in uxorem sibi rapuit, & ob amoris memoriam
coronam à Capite eius sumptam inter sydera
collocavit ut canit Ovidius lib. 8. Metamorphoseon) quo-
modo Iuvenis videris quasi nunc primum bar-
ba succrescere incipiat, cùm tamen aetate supe-
rare possis etiam senem illum Pylium? (id est,
Nestorem sic dictum ab urbe Pylo in qua re-
gnabat. Vixit autem tres hominum aetates, ut
inquit Homerus Odyssea 3. inde proverbium Ne-
storea senecta. in Chiliadibus) Hoc significo, te
quoque iuniorem validioremque futurum, si parcè
interdum meis muneribus uteris. Sed quid ma-
nibus Tympanum atque etiam Caput cornu-
tum habes, tum haec non nisi fatuis & insanis
conveniant? His tibi monstro eos qui vino
nostro dono abutuntur, mox inebriatos fero
ciores fieri & cornua assumere, denique libidi-
nosè tanquam mente captos tympanis lude-
re (sunt autem tympana luxuriae instrumenta,
teste Iustino lib. 30.) Quid sibi vult inflamma-
tus ille ac penè igneus totius corporis color?
an ne flammis humanis ureris? Cùm pater me
igneo fulmine ex ventre matris extraxisset,
mox corpus meum pulvere infectum aquis
immersit, (fabula sic narratur, Iupiter captus
amore Semeles filiae Regis Thebarum, eam
impregnavit, quare Iuno irata ut eam de me-
dio tolleret, assumpsit formam vetulae, eius
nutricis, eamque accedens persuasit, ut experi-
  Link to an image of this page  [h2v p116]retur, an Iupiter verè & ex animo illam ama-
ret, hoc modo, ab eo aliquid magni peteret
nempe velit talis & tantus secum concubere,
qualis & quantus cum Iunone coniuge sua
consuevisset, Semele igitur experiri volens
(ut sunt mulieres illius rei praesertim novae cu
pidissime) illud summopere petiit. Iupiter au
tem Sem ele iuraverat, se quicquid ab eo pete
ret daturum, ideoque ut iusiurandum servaret
illam fulmine flagranti occidit adhuc prae-
gnantem: infantulum autem nondum matu-
rum partui ex ventre eius sumens femori suo
imposuit ac tam diu fovit donec menses ma-
ternos compleret, qui puer Bacchus dictus
fuit primus inventor vini, pulchrè Ovidius lib.
3. Metamorphoseon) Idcirco sapienter agitis qui no-
stra munera rectè aqua diluit, secus enim ie-
cur in corpore combustum sentiet, sed instruas
me nunc quo pacto aquis rectè non bibenti
noceas temperari possis? Qui me ut prosim
assumere cupit infundat vini poculo quar-
tam aquae partem, sic nanque tutus erit, nec bi
bendo ultra heminam procedat, (est autem
hemina mensurae genus dimidium sextarii con-
tinens, ferè quod Lusitanis quartiglu dicitur)
nam qui huiusmodi mensuram excedere vo-
let hilaris quidem erit, sed mox ebrius, ratio-
ne denique privatus ac furens: Verùm ulti-
ma haec lex nimis dura videtur, sunt enim
  Link to an image of this page  [h3r p117]guttura pendula & tu dulce fluis. Heu quam
difficilè quaeque commoda eveniunt.